Extra Pics

Best Christmas Behaviour and plans for 2010

Rohan was as good as gold on his first trip away from home at Christmas.

He settled brilliantly in the car on a long journey and we couldn't have asked to him to behave any better at six months of age.

He loved having a big garden to mooch around in and spent a lot of time helping with the winter trimming of the raspberry canes.

Rohan absolutely loved his big walks through the countryside I've never seen a dog look so happy as when he was running down a hill faster than his legs could carry him. (We won't mention the fall into the canal or the bicycle incident) All he could do when he got back was sleep in front of the open fire.

As with most dogs , Ro is loving the snow and really enjoyed helping Sam. Alex and Rob build their snowman. (For help read 'steal the arms and run off with them').

On Sunday we took Rohan out with Oakly a flat coated retriever who is a couple of months older than him. Hoping that they would eventually settle and walk properly together, they just wrestled their way around the park and Ro was so exhausted by his efforts that he slept for about 5 hours straight when he got home.

This morning Rohan fell in love. She's a 12 month old Dalmation called Roxy. They played on the field for ages and unlike his behaviour with Oakley which was a battle to be top pup, Rohan spent most of his time with Roxy lying on his back submitting or licking her face. Roxy was just as smitten, her owner said she would come on command but she turned as deaf as Ro while they were playing.

Our aim for January is to get Rohan to ignore other dogs when we want him to so that he can start coming out to work with me all day sooner rather than later. I think at this stage we'll have to introduce a training line as food treats are not doing the trick so we're going to try denial!

ow, ow, ow ow,ow ow!

Apologies for the time it has taken to do a post, its been hectic, hectic hectic. I think there will be monthly posts from now on.

Rohan is doing well.

He has had another session with the trainer which has helped with his walking to heel. He isn't bad at all but still needs practice.

The older he is getting the further away he goes when he is off the lead. Flying through the forest as fast as his legs will carry him is definitely his favourite pastime.

We have gotten a new whistle for him on the trainers advice, It is the same as used for working dogs and has a much higher pitch, he is responding to it well. He still wants to be with other dogs more than us and has started the annoying habit of lying down when he see's one approach so he can leap at it when it goes past him. Apparently warm hot dogs are the key!

When I mention my issues to the trainer he does keep pointing out that Ro is still a puppy, which I think means give him a break!

Peanut the rabbit is still doing his best to hang out with Rohan, Poppy always gives him a lick then goes back in the hutch but Peanut always tries to get next to him.

Rob had Ro out in the yard for a pee and didn't see Peanut sit right next to Ro while he was going, once Ro had finished he then tried to chase the rabbit. Given that that is how Peanut and Poppy play with each other I actually think Peanut wants the chase. Unfortunately I can't run the risk of allowing it in case Ro gets too excited and flattens him but I am pretty sure if they got together by mistake he wouldn't hurt them.

I think our Christmas tree will survive this year, Rohan is distinctly uninterested.

We've taken the precaution of not decorating the lower branches but so far all he has done is lick a wooden duck. We won't be going so far as to putting presents out though!

The big news for Rohan this month has been his hernia and neutering operation which took place on Friday. As horrible as it was for me to leave him Ro loves Neil the vet(and his treats) so went off with him without so much as a backward glance.

When we went to pick him up he was a little woozy, and having not eaten since the day before Neil advised only tiny meals every hour for the first night. Ro was not happy, he demolished the first one and dug out every chew he could find. Whilst being hungry was a great sign of recovery, the side effect of a lot of poop was not so pleasant particularly as it was grey in colour due to the medication.

He has a bucket to wear to stop him from licking his stitches, thankfully only when we're not around . Naturally he hates it and the first couple of goes were painful as he charged around the place banging into everything including us. The first night he cried a lot, and wee'd in his bed and we had to sit with him until he went to sleep but last night he accepted it and we didn't hear a peep. He's a very adaptable little guy.

The pic shows his hernia stitches, he has a similar run where he has been neutered a little further along.

He is at the vet's for a check up on Monday and then gets his stitches out the Monday after. So we can have a bucket free Christmas.

Rohan is starring in our Christmas card this year so I have attached the pic. He quite liked wearing the hat but loves his Xmas day outfit, particularly the bells.

I will report back after Christmas to let you know how his trip to the in-laws goes, and whether we get sent home day two for stealing the Turkey!

Merry Christmas!

Killing the paper and watching TV!

Hunting the Fly

Rohan V Cows, his Lead, the paper and a fly, oh and pee gate!

Rohan is officially a mischief. Very cute but a mischief none the less.

His no fear attitude still hasn't been quashed despite the best efforts of a charging cow, a biting dog and my angry dad! So rather than being in battle with him we are now trying to trick him with the thing that matters to him the most... treats.

He cannot for the life of him let another dog, animal or person go past him without having their full attention unless, as I discovered today, I am holding a piece of cheese! The cheese is the holy grail and Rohan's leader so I am using it to get him to walk to heel, ignore other dogs and come back as soon as he is called. So far so good. I'll update at the end of the week. I will have won or Rohan will either have been trampled, eaten, or stolen!

I have a good few pics to upload so they may cover a few blogs, a couple of baby teeth, his first real meat, a knuckle bone from the butchers. He loved it and it kept him occupied for hours. It had to be binned due to his inability to keep it on his mat and Robbie and I not loving raw bone and marrow all over the place. But he can have another one when the weather is better and he can lie out side with it.

I took Rohan and Peanut to the vet's together last week for Peanut's yearly jab and to get Rohan weighed. He was 17.5kg which is good as he's not too heavy. He sat and high fived for his treats with the vet and lay quietly while Peanut was sorted out. I'm thinking he won't be so pleased to see the vet in December as he will be having his bits removed and his hernia stitched up. He will be suffering the indignity of a bucket on his head for a while until his stitches have healed. Poor thing.

He loves destroying papers and emptying the laundry basket. He is also very obsessed with coat hangers and Robbie's shoes.

Rob is also convinced he can understand English... my parents were over for dinner last weekend and my mum was telling Rob about one of our previous Labs who had wee'd on their bed whilst looking at them. i.e deliberately. You can guess what's coming. Ro went to our room put his front paws on the bed and pee'd like he was in a urinal. Right next to Rob! For those of you that think Rob doesn't lose his temper, try cocking your leg next to him!

However on a positive note Rohan has not had any indoor accidents for a whole week. So I think we may have cracked it. Unless Ro can read this blog in which case I'm sure he's going to prove me wrong any second!

Firework night passed without issue for Rohan, we took him to my mum's as Oscar isn't phased by them at all so we thought it would be good for him to be around a calm dog.

On Saturday I left Ro at my mum's while I visited a friend. When I went to pick him up I let him out into their garden to toilet before putting him in the car. He came running in with a unexploded firework in his mouth. It was like a slow motion bomb disposal scene from a Die Hard movie and poor Ro was so pleased with himself as he thought he'd gotten a prize. Luckily it didn't go off and neither Ro's face or my hand got blown off but we would all have failed the 'play it safe' test!

Tonight Ro found a fly under the table he spent ten minutes eating it, standing on it and spitting it out. Not pleasant, particularly for the fly.

He still doesn't like the rain. I took him out first thing this morning but forgot the treats so went back in for a minute. when I tried to leave again he knew it was raining and refused to go out of the door. He soon cheered up when he realised that bad weather meant I would let him get as muddy as he liked as he would need a proper clean when he got in anyway. He really needs to get the hang of being a Labrador, he walked straight past the lake today.

My brother gave us a new Tv this weekend and the screen is much bigger than our old one. Ro loves it he really seems to follow the picture now and will lie full stretch and watch programmes.

Unfortunately for me he seems to really like The Simpsons although I think Rob may be bribing him so he can watch it more!

As naughty as he can be nothing he can do can detract from how lovable he is, especially when he is so unbelievably pleased to see you or when he sits on your knee for a cuddle. Swats you with his paw when you don't understand what he wants or goes stupidly wriggly when he sees Rob.

He is still loving his big boy bed, we have to get him up in the morning now and he just rolls on his back totally chilling. He spends so much more time in it now which is great as he never makes a fuss when we put him in and go out.

Anyway I'll add some photos and report back at the end of the week to see how we're getting on with training.

Walking to Heel ....ish

Rohan started off walking to heel brilliantly after his trip to Campcolis but as the week has gone on he's slipping a bit. Still 100 times better than before but he still can't get the hang of walking right next to us rather than half a yard in front.

It's back to basics with some focused walking to heel training rather than just doing it when we're out for normal walks.

He has also discovered the joys of rolling this week. Thankfully it's not in another dogs poop, but it is in wet mud. Beginning to think we should have gone for a black lab instead!

He is still crazy when he see's another dog and will always run after them, thankfully so far his cuteness is winning him friends rather than annoying other owners as he torpedoes towards them.

His teeth are coming in at a rate of notts and they are sparkly white. We've introduced the toothbrush but he's not feeling the meat flavour toothpaste at all. He's still mouthing a bit but hopefully once the rest of his teeth are in we can all move on!

Other than all of that he is lovely, especially in the mornings. he always gets a cuddle of Robbie before he gets ready for work. Its definitely our favourite part of the day. Early evening and he's a maniac!

We can't believe how fast he is growing. Things that he was far to small to reach before he is now getting to with ease. He is losing his hiding places around the flat as we can now see bits of him sticking out. He is also a ton weight to carry around.